Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday announced that a ‘Border Protection Grid’ will be set up in Indian states bordering Bangladesh to strengthen Indo-Bangladesh border security in a bid to curb various illegal activities. The Union Home Minister announced this after chairing a meeting with chief ministers of Indo-Bangladesh border states at the auditorium of state secretariat in Kolkata.

“Discussions were held to set up a Border Protection Grid (BPG) for multi-pronged and foolproof mechanism to secure our border. The grid will comprise various elements namely physical barriers, non-physical barriers, surveillance system, intelligence agencies, state police, BSF and other state and central agencies. BGP will be supervised by a state level standing committee which will be chaired by respective state secretaries. BGP will ensure greater help for states in the overall border security. For putting in place the BGP, active participation of respective state governments is required,” Singh said.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal and Mizoram chief minister LalThanhawla attended the meeting while senior government officials of Tripura and Meghalaya took part in it. The Union Home Minister also asked respective states to increase its “vigilance” in border areas to control illegal migration, Rohingya influx, armed infiltration, cattle smuggling, human trafficking, supply of fake Indian currency notes and cross-border terrorism.

“We seek full cooperation from Bangladesh bordering states to control illegal activities in border areas. Border security is our top priority and there is a need to fast track border infrastructure development and strengthen border security,” Singh said during a news conference post the meeting.